Local News

The 32nd anniversary of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is being recognized by the Iroquois County Health Department.

The Iroquois County Public Health Department works with the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program to provide free screenings for ALL uninsured women in Iroquois County between the ages of 40 and 64. Younger women with symptoms also may qualify. If needed, many treatments are also covered under the program. If you live in Illinois, are without health insurance and are between 40 and 64 years old, please contact Jane at 815-432-2483 (Monday through Friday 8:30am-4:30pm) to get enrolled in this life-saving program. You can also visit www.cancerscreening.illinois.gov for more information.

Breast cancer continues to be the most common cancer diagnosed in women other than skin cancer and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths for women. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. It is estimated that there will be 252,710 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed across the United States in 2017. Vonda Pruitt, Director of Nursing at the Iroquois County Public Health Department states that “the best chance for detecting breast cancer early is through mammography screenings and earlier detection gives higher survival rates.”

And police and the mayor are still asking for the public’s help in their investigation.

Wright’s death comes two days after he and another man were shot in the 700 block of North Greenwood Avenue. 19-year-old Antwan Lawrence, also of Kankakee, is expected to survive.

Wright is the sixth homicide victim in the city this year, and the second this month. 25-year-old Luis Martinez was also a shooting casualty. Pol\ccie said he was found shot to death in a house in the 1000 block of West Hickory Street on October 1.

Investigators report suspects have been arrested in only one of the city murder cases.

Mayor Chasity Wells-Armstrong made a plea for witnesses to come forward and help police apprehend the shooter. At a press conference (Wed) the mayor reached out to the community saying police need people who know something to say something.

The mayor and police chief Price Dumas said officers are pushing forward to gain more information.

The plans for a new innovation hub in Chicago are boundless. But there are real questions about whether the joint campus for the University of Illinois will ever materialize.

Governor Rauner and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel yesterday launched the effort which they say will make Chicago and the university leaders in research and development. But no one is saying where the one-point-two billion-dollars that's needed to pay for the hub in the South Loop will come from.

In an effort to differentiate themselves from the pack of applicants for Amazon's HQ2, Kankakee County would allow Amazon to create what they call "Amazon City."

The county's proposal would grant the online retail giant a large swath of unincorporated land as well as unfettered access over much of its regional airport. In doing this, Bezos and Co. would have a clean slate to create a community in their own image.

Kankakee County Board Chairman Andy Wheeler says it allows a visionary like Bezos to tailor the city to his company and community.

"We can now create the boxes were we unable to check before," Wheeler said. "Now we're on the map for others to see what we have as siting areas."